Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Light Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight

Heading into the UFC 165 main event, Jones viewed his showdown with
Alexander Gustafsson as a chance to cement his place as the
greatest light heavyweight champion in the promotion’s history.
While “Bones” surpassed Tito Ortiz’s
record for 205-pound title defenses, he learned that the 6-foot-5
Swede measured up to the challenge in more ways than just height.
Twenty five hard-fought minutes against “The Mauler” arguably
exposed more chinks in the New York native’s armor than his
previous five title defenses combined, perhaps giving hope to an
entire division. A rematch will have to wait, as a showdown with
surging Brazilian Glover Teixeira has been targeted for UFC
172.

Gustafsson had far more than height on his side at UFC 165, as he
battled Jon Jones tooth-and-nail for 25 minutes in their light
heavyweight title tilt. Although the Swedish “Mauler” emerged on
the wrong side of a unanimous decision, he undoubtedly gained more
than a few fans in the process. Before he can get another shot at
205-pound gold, Gustafsson will have to defeat the unbeaten
Jimi
Manuwa in London on March 8.

It had been more than two years between stoppage wins for Evans,
but he fixed that with a first-round finish at UFC 167. The former
champion blew the doors off of fellow Fox Sports analyst Chael
Sonnen, smashing the loud-mouthed Oregonian with ground punches and
keeping Evans’ name in the discussion as one of the division’s
elite. Next, “Suga” will welcome unbeaten American Kickboxing
Academy product Daniel
Cormier to the light heavyweight division at UFC 170.

Once regarded as one of the light heavyweight division’s most
promising talents, Davis’ career path took a detour following a
lopsided loss to Rashad Evans at UFC on Fox 2. “Mr. Wonderful” got
back on track at UFC 163, taking a controversial unanimous decision
against former 205-pound kingpin Lyoto
Machida. While many were not pleased with the ruling, Davis
figures to be in line to face another contender upon his return to
the Octagon.

Teixeira needed an impressive performance at UFC Fight Night 28 in
order to solidify his place as the UFC’s No. 1 light heavyweight
contender, and he delivered with a first-round technical knockout
against powerful wrestler Ryan Bader. The Brazilian was momentarily
stunned by a left hand from his opponent, but he eventually
recovered to drop the Power MMA Team member with a two-punch
combination before swarming with punches on the ground to earn the
stoppage. A winner of 20 straight fights, Teixeira will vie for Jon
Jones’ 205-pound strap at UFC 172.

In recent years, two things have come to define Henderson’s mixed
martial arts career: his devastating howitzer of a right hand and a
cast-iron chin. At UFC Fight Night 32, Hendo’s jaw failed him for
the first time in 40 professional fights, as he was knocked out by
Vitor Belfort in the first round of their headlining bout. Coming
off three straight losses and with his UFC contract expired, the
43-year-old faces some uncertainty heading into 2014.

“Minotoro” began the year with an upset victory over Rashad Evans
at UFC 156. However, the rest of his 2013 campaign has been defined
by injury. First, a herniated disc forced the Brazilian out of a
UFC 161 showdown with Mauricio Rua. Then, Nogueira pulled out of a
proposed clash with Alexander Gustafsson in London shortly after it
was announced, citing lingering back issues.

Bader once again proved how dominant he can be against
middle-of-the-road competition at UFC Fight Night 33, as “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner overwhelmed 41-year-old Anthony
Perosh for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Bader underwent surgery for a broken hand after the fight; a date
for his return to the Octagon is uncertain.

The former Dream and Strikeforce champion earned a handy decision
in his April UFC debut against late replacement Ilir Latifi
and subsequently underwent surgery for a torn ACL. Mousasi will
drop to 185 pounds for his next appearance: a marquee matchup
against Lyoto Machida on Feb. 8 in Brazil.

Sonnen’s sudden and surprising return to prominence at 205 pounds
came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Rashad Evans in the co-main
event of UFC 167. After being taken down by his “UFC Tonight”
broadcast partner, Sonnen succumbed to rough ground-and-pound
toward the end of an opening round which never seemed
competitive.